MSNBC Politics Nation The Rev. Al Sharpton discusses the day's important political and human interest stories.

March 4, 20143:00 - 4:01pm PST

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we need pre-k. >> mr. drum, thanks for joining us tonight. this is a battle that we'll talk more about, because it's happening all over the country. it's hot here in new york. that's "the ed show." i'm ed schultz. "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now. good evening, rev. good evening, ed, and thanks to you for tuning in. i'm live tonight from miami. tonight's lead, republicans playing politics with national security. obama the president is facing a major crisis with russia's invasion of the ukraine. we've already seen russian soldiers firing warning shots in a standoff today. >> this is serious.

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but here in the u.s., some of the right are using the crisis to do what they do best, attack a president sitting in office named barack obama. today gop senator lindsey graham connected ukraine back to the right's favorite topic, benghazi. tweeting, quote, it started with benghazi. when you kill americans and nobody pays a price, you invite this type of aggression. russia invading ukraine started with benghazi? benghazi doesn't have anything to do with it. but graham's not the only one launching baseless attacks on the president. >> this president does not understand vladimir putin. he does not understand his ambitions. it's time we woke up about vladimir putin. it's time that this administration got real. >> i think barack obama misunderstands the world, that he had limited experience of it

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and in it. and i think he has proved as oscar goodman, the mayor of las vegas said in another context to be a very slow learner. >> i think putin is playing chess, and i think we're playing marbles. >> the president doesn't understand? he is a slow learner? what happened to politics ending at the water's edge? and while republicans are denouncing russia's invasion, some also can't help but express admiration for president vladimir putin. >> putin decides what he wants to do and he does it in half a day. he makes a decision and he executes it. quickly. then everybody reacts. that's what you call a leader. president obama got to think about it. he's got to go over it again. he's got to talk to more people about it. >> that's what you call a leader? apparently, the folks over at fox nation agree. they posted a quote, must watch

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highlight reel of putin doing macho things. because, really, who cares if putin is invading a sovereign country. the man is macho. the right's handling of this crisis has gotten so ridiculous that some are even attacking the president's wardrobe. one former bush official says, quote, talking with the president of russia about an invasion in a button-down shirt and jeans is not up to the task. and he is not the only one. >> obama's -- the perception of him and his potency across the world is one of such weakness. and, you know, look, people are looking at putin as one who wrestles bears and drills for oil. they look at our president as one who wears mom jeans and equivocates and bloviates. >> mom jeans?

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macho putin? this is serious. people have died. and america's president is mobilizing the world to respond. wouldn't it be nice if the right looked beyond this kind of petty politics? joining me now are richard wolffe and michelle cottle. thank you both for coming on the show tonight. >> thanks, reverend. >> thanks, rev. >> richard, let me start with you. why is this crisis all about mom jeans and macho putin for the gop? >> well, it's not new for this republican party to approach this president and say he is not up to the job. he's, you know, he doesn't have the intellectual capacity or the moral strength or the backbone to do this job. they've been doing this for years. and maybe that's what parties do, right? there were very similar criticisms coming from mccain about president clinton and his foreign policy. of course, they ignored the bush record, and they get very

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annoyed when we talk about the bush record. but it is worth considering a president who dressed up in the oval office who just launched a war that was the biggest foreign policy disaster since vietnam. for serious republicans, and for some reason, you know, people in the media still consider senator graham to be a serious foreign policy person in spite of the comments he just made, you know, senator graham obviously has forgotten one of his heroes. ronald reagan had a chance to be tough against the soviets when they rolled in tanks in poland during the solidarity crisis, and he backed down. he did not in fact punish people who killed americans when the marines died in beirut. he was a hero of the cold war. he ended up in republican version of events winning the cold war single handedly. they have to ask themselves if they are serious about foreign policy, where is the consistency. >> well, michelle, i want to go back to what senator lindsey graham tweeted. he said earlier, quote, this is

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the tweet, it started with benghazi. when you kill americans and nobody pays a price, you invite this type of aggression. i mean, why do all roads lead to benghazi with the gop, michelle? >> that has been where they've managed to get the administration on the ropes or the closest to it. but that kind of comparison sounds daffy when you just kind of look at it. but when you think about what uber hawks like graham and mccain have always thought of this president, it makes total sense. because for them not everything starts with benghazi. everything starts with with the elect of obama. because in their mind, he has always been weak, feckless, not up to the task. and everything that happens on the globe in their minds confirms that assessment. >> now, you know, richard, mr. rumsfeld blasted the administration's handling of russia, calling this administration weak.

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take a listen. >> it seems to me the central problem is bigger and critically important america, and that is america's weakness. specifically, the u.s. is behaving in a way that tells the world that we're in decline, we're in withdrawal. we have created a leadership vacuum in the world. and it is being filled by the putins of the world. it is u.s. weakness that has shaken the world. >> u.s. weakness that has shaken the world. richard? >> well, it's rich hearing this kind of stuff from don rumsfeld. the name-calling must give him some kind of satisfaction. but, again, if you're a serious republican foreign policy-minded person, what is the alternative? tell us what they think this shot do other than sounding tough or wearing a suit in the oval office. what are the alternatives, what are any alternatives if they are really talking about rolling back russian forces out of

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ukraine? and let's hear them say that but more to the point, what kind of strength did donald rumsfeld project when he got bogged down in the quagmire of iraq. did america look like it was filling a leadership vacuum because of their foreign policy disasters, or is there a stronger policy in building coalitions, withdrawing from wars that don't make any sense, and maybe, you know, ordering up the attack that killed bin laden? >> well, you know, michelle, the right wing had a very different reaction, as a matter of fact, when russia invaded the country of georgia back in 2008 when president bush was in office. karl rove said, quote, i don't think that putin spit in the eye of the president. conservative columnist charles krauthammer said, quote, i don't think russians are reckless. what they are doing is reasserting control.

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another fox guest simply said, quote, there is no easy answer. russia is a tough nut to crack. so it seems like things were a lot different when president bush was in and there was this invasion of georgia than we're seeing today as they're responding to what is going on with russia and mr. putin. >> yeah. if you look at their responses back then, they are correct. this is a tough nut, you know. russia's relationship with crimea is very complicated and there are not a lot of good options here. but to hear them tell it now, all you really need is a president with unbridled machismo, and we wouldn't have this problem or any of the other problems that we've been looking at in the last few years. >> but richard, they not only blamed this president and go back to all of what has been their talking points, the daily beast points out now the gop is also trying to blame russia's invasion on hillary clinton.

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quote, republicans are pointing fingers at former secretary of state clinton, who during her tenure saw resolution and hope in the now fury-filled russia. >> yeah, that's a lot to dump on a secretary of state. but, you know, if she is to blame for the reset, then maybe she was just following the leader, george w. bush, who looked into putin's eye. it's so ridiculous the caricatures that are being played out around this. if they want to play out 2016 on ukraine, good luck to them. that's seriously underestimating hillary clinton. >> and michelle, as richard points out, it was george w. bush who said he looked into putin's eyes, not president barack obama. so are we now so partisan and so petty that we deal with lives, we deal with the possibility of everything from sanctions to

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military movement based on who is in office and what party, and we do not deal with american interests, american lives and other lives as a priority over partisan politics? >> well, what you have with republicans right now is the freedom of the party that is not in control of foreign policy. to talk and whine and point fingers and do whatever they want to. and then it is fundamentally lies with obama to do what needs to be done. >> richard wolffe and michelle cottle, thanks for coming on the show tonight. >> thanks, reverend. >> thanks. ahead, developing news in the chris christie bridge scandal. the feds turn up the heat on two of his former aides in what is being described as a criminal investigation. plus, surprise, surprise, turns out paul ryan may have been playing fast and loose with the facts in his new attack on the safety net.

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also, surveillance video of a walmart shooting that is raising some disturbing questions about self-defense and america's gun culture. >> a fight just broke out near the checkout. a man has been shot. >> are they outside or inside? >> inside. >> okay. >> someone is applying direct pressure to a chest wound. >> now, one man is dead and the shooter has not been arrested in a case that's reviving debates about guns and justice. stay with us. here's a word you should keep in mind "unbiased". some brokerage firms are but way too many aren't. why?

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governor christie's former campaign manager appears to be a target of a federal criminal investigation. will he start talking? a former u.s. attorney joins me next. 10 times softer and may have surface pores where bacteria can multiply.

are the feds closing in? a developing story in the george washington bridge scandal tonight. chris christie's former campaign manager appears to be the subject of a federal criminal investigation. in a court filing, bill stepien's attorney says his client is in, quote, the throes of a criminal investigation, and that the feds have tried to contact stepien directly, saying that on january 17th, an fbi special agent called stepien's cell. shortly later, two assistant u.s. attorneys called stepien's lawyer.

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then in mid-february, an fbi agent along with the department of justice investigator paid a visit to stepien's home. we're also learning the u.s. attorney's office tried to contact former deputy chief of staff bridget kelly and her parents. both stepien and kelly were very close to christie, and they are the only two to publicly say they will not turn over any documents. so where is this investigation going next? joining me now, former u.s. attorney kendall coffey. kendall, thanks for your time tonight. >> hey, thanks for inviting me, reverend. >> a criminal investigation, what does that tell you, kendall? >> well, it tells you that they decided that there are indeed potential federal crimes here. they've got three highly qualified and experienced federal prosecutors assigned with probably lots of federal agents. so this is very, very serious

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business. and it's a fascinating development, the way they seem to be putting a maximum of pressure early on, on two of the key people, bridget kelly and of course stepien, who, if anybody knows one way or the other whether chris christie is implicated, those two do. and they're trying to get right to them as fast as they can be a maximum of pressure. >> now, why would investigators go to stepien's home? >> well, normally you build an investigation going to the top, as high as the evidence will take you, one step at a time, until you get to the very top of the staircase. here they seem to be wanting to taking an elevator to the penthouse suite and get to the people who would have knowledge and find a way to send them a message. they know they're not going to get usable stuff out of interviewing stepien's landlord, asking about was stepien rowdy, stuff like that. >> yeah. >> what they're doing, reverend, is delivering a message, that

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stepien's got telescope, a microscope, a stethoscope looking at him. if there is anything at all there he better be plenty concerned if he wants to talk to the feds about what he might know, this is a really good time to start talk. >> so are they trying to rattle stepien? is this what they're doing? >> they want to shake him up, rattle him, and roll him against chris christie if in fact he has information that could be relevant. this is a highly focused effort. it's not an accident that they're sending this guy a message. and if you're stepien right now, it's got to be pretty tough to sleep at night, not knowing where this thing is going to go. >> now, what if he clams up? then where do they go? >> he clams up, then he has lost his chance to do early cooperation. again, we don't know if he has any incriminating information. whether he does or not, this chance is now. if he passes it -- and if in

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fact he is clean, then stepien's got nothing to worry about. but if this is anything incriminating, they're going find it, and serious consequences are going to follow. >> now, let's not forget that governor christie cast stepien aside the day those bombshell e-mails became public. but listen to the reasons christie gave for pushing stepien out. >> i had earlier conversations with bill stepien where as i expressed to you at the time that bill told me he knew absolutely nothing about this. so, you know, and certainly the e-mails yesterday, e-mails involving bill stepien were well after the fact. so -- but that's not the basis upon which i made my decision on bill. my decision on bill was made based on the fact of the tone, the tenor, and the conduct that was evidenced in those e-mails.

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i lost confidence in his judgment. and that's why i made the decision i made as to bill. >> now, there has been nothing at all to implicate governor christie as of yet that we've heard or that anyone has brought forward. but, you know, governor christie is famous, kendall, for his tough rhetoric. would it strike prosecutors as odd that he would fire stepien for using tough language? >> well, i think the prosecutors are assuming that if anybody knows whether or not there is something to implicate governor christie, it is stepien. and one of the realities is that when you throw somebody overboard, whether it's for good reasons or bad, you got to expect that sometimes once they're overboard, they're going swim over to the government's ship. and if they've got things to say, they may start talking at some point. >> kendall coffey, thank you for your time tonight. >> hey, thanks, reverend. coming up, president obama

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reveals his vision to give opportunity to every american. plus, wait until you hear what we're learning about paul ryan's poverty report. who is saying they were misunderstood and misrepresented? and self-defense or murder? an arizona man shot to death inside a walmart. no arrest was made. it's re-igniting the debate over stand your ground today. stay with us. ♪

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while republicans look for more ways to slash the safety net, president obama released his new budget plan today, pushing to reduce inequality in our country. >> in my state of the union address, i laid out an agenda to restore opportunity for all people. to uphold the principle that no matter who you are, no matter where you started, you can make it if you try here in america. the budget i sent congress this morning lays out how we'll implement this agenda in a balanced and responsible way. >> the president's budget calls for universal prekindergarten education. it increases tax credits for the working poor and supports early childhood programs like head start to help offset those costs, the budget would end some tax breaks for the wealthy and raise taxes on tobacco. ending tax breaks for the wealthy. guess what the republicans think? speaker boehner said, quote, the

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president has offered perhaps his most irresponsible budget yet. and the gop's go-to budget guy, paul ryan? he called it, quote, yet another disappointment. you know what is actually a disappointment? congressman ryan's new report on poverty, which is nothing more than a justification to cut programs that helped the poor. >> we spent about $800 billion on nearly 100 programs for the poor on welfare programs. and it's getting worse. more people in poverty. the poverty rates at a generation high. and with these new programs has put in place like obamacare, what we're learning is more people will stay in the poverty trap. >> these programs don't put people in a trap. they help lift them up. but it's no surprise congressman ryan doesn't have his facts straight. some of the experts in his

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poverty report cited he misrepresented their research. if republicans want to get serious about fighting poverty, that's great. but i'm not going to hold my breath. joining me now are congressman emanuel cleaver, democrat of missouri, and sister simone campbell, the executive director of the catholic social justice organization network. thank you both for being here. >> good to be with you, reverend. >> glad to be here. >> congressman, what is your reaction to paul ryan's report on poverty? >> well, you know, i'm pleased that chairman ryan wanted to get an assessment of the poverty programs. i'm a bit disappointed that he either misinterpret order misrepresented what many of the authors of the report said. and head start is just one of the many programs that i think he misunderstood. and in some ways, reverend, i got to say, i resent the idea

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that helping people puts them in a trap. my mother and father raised four children. we started out in a house with no running water, no indoor plumbing, moved to public housing. we needed help for a while. >> father worked a full-time job, six days a week, got up and cleaned offices saturday mornings, and we moved out of that house. and my father live notice this house at this very moment. so we were not a trap. my father was a trapaholic in trying to get out of it. and that's what millions of americans are trying to do. i think they need to be careful about the language. people are working hard every single day. nobody enjoys being poor. >> nobody. and i grew up under similar circumstances with a single mother. and she was not in a trap. she kept us from being trapped. sister simone, how do you respond to this trap language that is being used by mr. ryan? >> well, i'm totally shocked by it. the fact is that 26 million people in 2012 lived in poverty

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because their wages were so low. the issue is often is wages. the earned income tax credit that the president is proposing to expand is one of the most empowering programs there is. there are. and last week i was in detroit at some amazing programs that help people get their geds, help people really overcome learning disabilities as adults, and make a significant step forward. sharon last week told me because she got her ged, she was now able to get a raise and finally lift her family out of poverty. these are helpful programs that are moving people ahead. >> now congressman cleaver, congressman ryan's report included lots of citations. but a reporter for the fiscal times talked to some of the experts cited. he writes their reactions, quote, range from bemusement to anger, claiming that ryan either

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misunderstood or misrepresented their research. one expert said, quote, it's an odd way to cite the research. usually you use all the available data. and another thought congressman ryan simply misstated the findings of one of her papers. i mean, this is not exactly an endorsement, is it, congressman? >> it's not an endorsement. and i think chairman ryan, i don't know him well. i don't want to suggest that i do know him and we know each other. i think he would like to change the dialogue between those who are pushing for the poor and those who are seen as being the people who push back. and i think he would like to have a new narrative for republicans that they are interested in trying to help the poor. the problem i think is that chairman ryan probably is not taking into account the millions of americans who live that every day and who could help them design programs and policies. we have right now 46 million

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americans living in poverty. that is an insult and a shame. the other thing, the president in his budget did something that republicans should jump up and down in supporting. and that is he is going to, if it's approved, provide some tax cuts for poor working people with children. >> yeah. >> presently, the -- i mean, without children, the tax cuts are for people who work -- low income people who work and have children. and so republicans like tax cuts. here is an opportunity to say we want to help the poor. and that is what we're going to do. support the president's proposal. >> expanding the earned income tax credit that sister simone you referred to. but let me show you this, sister simone. it's interesting that congressman ryan is championing the fight. but here is what he said in the past about the poor and raising the minimum wage. listen to this. >> will you support or seek to

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block increasing the minimum wage? >> it's bad economics, andrew. >> we don't want to turn the safety net into a hammock that lulls able-bodied people to lives of dependency and complacency. >> teach a man how to fish, he can feed himself for a life. don't simply feed fish. >> i mean, do these kinds of comments inspire confidence, sister simone? >> well, not for me, reverend. but i think what really needs to be pointed out is that our pope francis, paul ryan and i share the same faith. and pope francis said that the role of government is to work for the common good. and common good includes making sure that all workers have livable wages. right now our workers do not. and what we just heard in that clip from paul ryan indicated that he was not in favor of making sure that all workers can live on their wages. we need to make a change. this is wrong. the right way forward is for wages, for work supports, and for making sure that everybody

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in our nation has an opportunity. >> you know, it's interesting, congressman, that -- it's interesting that sister simone raised st. francis. you and i both are ministers. and the president said today that a budget is about values. let's watch. >> our budget is about choices. it's about our values. as a country, we've got to make a decision if we're going to protect tax breaks for the wealthiest americans or if we're going to make smart investments necessary to create jobs and grow our economy and expand opportunity for every american. >> i mean, what do the republicans' budget choices say about their values, congressman cleaver? >> well, you know, i contend, and i think you agree with this, being a minister, is that you look at a budget and you can tell who a person is, what they believe in, what they want to

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do. either as an individual or a nation. the monotheistic religions of the world all push its members to fight against poverty. but right now the united states of america, the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting what the rich don't take with them. >> congressman emanuel cleaver and sister simone campbell, i'm going to have to leave it there. thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you, reverend. >> good to be here. still ahead, a top democrat calls out republicans for their dependence on billionaire koch brothers. but first, new surveillance video of a deadly shooting inside a walmart. one man is dead and the shooter has not been arrested. we'll talk about it next. covert ops? double agents? spy thriller? you don't know "aarp"

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tonight, new surveillance video from a deadly shooting inside an arizona walmart that is raising some disturbing questions about self-defense and guns in america. last month, christian valenti chee, there on the left was shot and killed by kyle on the right. the surveillance video shows them getting into an argument at a service counter. we don't know what the argument

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was about. chee followed him towards the exit. things get physical when valenti chee begins pushing and shoving. the two men scuffle. just a few seconds later, cuadlin takes out his gun and shoots valenti chee in the chest. he is seen walking around with his gun still in his hand. the tape also shows terrified adults shielding children and other kids, fleeing in fear as witnesses call 911. >> a fight just broke out near the checkout. man has been shot. >> okay. are they inside or outside? >> inside. >> okay. did you witness anything? >> i saw some people struggling. i saw them go down behind a display case, and then i heard a gunshot. then somebody -- the guy who was shot just got up and ran past a

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couple of the checkout stands and then collapsed on the floor. someone is applying direct pressure to a chest wound. um, you need get somebody here really quick. he is bleeding profusely. >> valenti chee was pleading profusely and soon died, leaving behind a wife and three kids. cuadlin himself also called police to say he was acting in self-defense. >> he proceeded to follow me out. and i didn't even get to the front door and this guy attacked me. >> okay. >> and it should be on cameras and everything. he is kind of doing whatever he can. i had to get it off safety and i didn't try to kill the guy or nothing, but i aimed as low as i could. >> police didn't arrest quadlin because he told them he was

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losing the fight and was in fear for his life when he fired. but the victim was unarmed, and the shoving match lasted just a few seconds. arizona is a stand your ground state. and this shooting is once again highlighting a crisis in this country. too many guns and too many victims. it's time to fix these laws, and we can start right here where it all began, florida. joining me now is florida state senate democratic leader chris smith, who has introduced a bill to fix some of the flaws in florida's stand your ground law. also joining me is goldie taylor. thank you both for being here. >> thank you, reverend. >> thank you, reverend. >> senator, we're seeing stories like this from all over the country. isn't it time we addressed these issues of self-defense and stand your ground? >> definitely, reverend. stand your ground started here in 2005.

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but since recently in the last year or so, you see an uptick in these types of cases because people are now getting a type of courage. they now see i can use the stand your ground to escalate that argument that i used to have with that neighbor. or i can escalate just a simple shoving match or something and use this great law to finally get my aggression out, get my gun out, and do what i've always wanted to do. when we know, when we know as human beings in a civilized society, there are times when you shouldn't take a life there are times when you shouldn't use a gun. but this law, people are seeing it, especially since the trayvon martin case and you see zimmerman walking away, doing interviews, they see this as an opportunity to finally get those aggressions out and unnecessarily take a life. and i think we're just going see more and more of this as these laws stay on the books as is. and that's sad in a civilized society that we've gone there. >> now, let me ask you. this new bill in the florida

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legislature could change stand your ground. it calls for new neighborhood watch guidelines that would ban watch groups from confronting individuals. it would make it more difficult for aggressors to use the stand your ground defense. and it would eliminate civil immunity in stand your ground cases. it's not a full repeal, but it's a start. why is this bill so important to you? >> well, i've been working on these cases. i voted against stand your ground in 2005 when i was in the house. and i've been working for its repeal. but that's not likely to happen in florida. so i'm teamed up with the republican colleague to try to put some common sense back into the bill. so when juries go back and start deliberating, when judges look at it, they can start to look and see that, okay, this is not a stand your ground case. this person was an aggressor. this is not what this law is intended for. and so we're trying to give juries and judges a little something else to think about and something else to hold their hat on as they stem the tide of

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these violent people using this law to just act out on their aggressions when they don't have to. >> now, this is not like the warning shot bill that is being proposed? >> no, sir. this doesn't encourage you to shoot in any way. what this says is if you're the aggressor, if you escalate an argument, if you are the person that initiated the contact, you cannot use stand your ground. >> right. >> you can always use a standard self-defense, but you can't stand under this stand your ground and not be arrested and all the other protections stand your ground give you. we're trying to put some common sense back into this law, because as you see, since the trayvon martin case, you see more -- and sadly, reverend, you've done a great job highlighting these cases. but sadly, you see more and more of these cases. and if these laws go unchecked, you're going see more. >> well, goldie, this is really concerned a lot of us in the civil rights communities, a big rally we're doing there monday

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around you've got to look at these laws. >> right. >> and you've got to look at stand your ground law is applied unequally. take a look at this. from 2005 to 2010, 36% of shooting deaths with a white perpetrator and black victim were found to be justifiable. only 3% of shooting deaths with a black perpetrator and white victim was considered justifiable. so it's not even an equal application. but either way, i would have serious concerns about this law. >> you have to have serious concerns about a law. but when you look at gun deaths around this country, homicides around this country, it is never the race of the shooter that is sort of the deciding factor adds to whether somebody will be heavily investigated, whether it will be more rigorously prosecuted. even the length of the sentence. it is almost always to the person decided upon the race or the gender of the victim. so this country has developed this sort of ranking system for the value of life based on

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someone's economic background, someone's racial heritage, someone's gender. and so those kinds of biases are baked unfortunately into our judicial system. in this kind of law, this kind of law, stand your ground or shoot first laws, which are really in as many as 25 to 26 states in this country really codify our fears, really make the law ratify them, make them legal to act on those fears. and so i think that we do -- we are in for some reforms in those states. but i'm afraid as i look at florida and the vote count there's, as i look at the vote counts here and some of the other states that are not necessarily controlled by more progressive or democratic legislatures, i'm concerned we won't get the kind of modifications that we need. i do believe we have to challenge this both in the state level, but i think we also have to begin to take this to the federal level when we talk about the equitable outcomes. i don't believe that these kinds of laws that have an inequitable outcome, i can't believe that they're constitutional.

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>> well, i think that's part of the reason some of us are rallying. >> yes. >> earlier today, senator, florida governor rick scott gave a state of the state address. but there was some glaring omissions. he didn't mention one time the phrase stand your ground or self-defense. he didn't say the name trayvon martin, jordan davis, or marissa alexander. don't these issues deserve the attention of the state's governor? >> well, our governor has been writing letters to the president about venezuela and about things outside of state of florida, but he has neglected to mention floridians that are dying. he has neglected to mention that this is a topic around the nation about his state. and i was very disappointed as i sat there listening to the state of the state that here is a major topic. here is something that people are talking about around the nation about his state, and he didn't bother to mention or at least give condolences to the families that are out there

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suffering. the florida families that are suffering, he has neglected to mention, give condolences, or anything. and so i was disappointed in his lack of leadership and compassion when it comes to floridians. >> and we're not saying, goldie, that he ought to take a position on the case. >> sure. >> rally on monday, are not taking positions on the case. it's about concerns about the law and concerns what is happening. and he could do that as governor, as president obama had to trayvon martin's parents and jordan davis' parents at the white house last week when he did my brother's keeper. not taking a position or interfering with the case, but you're dealing with concerns of citizens and law. >> well, you know, i think he ought to be concerned about the safety and welfare of all of his citizens. he ought to be concerned about the application of a law and even a sentencing that comes behind this thing. marissa alexander faces some 60 years in prison because of a 10-20 life law on the books in

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florida. certainly michael dunn is facing that same 60 years because of the attempted murder charges arising out of his case. but, you know, governor really needs to take a very hard look at all of this. i think it's incumbent on him to make public statements about them. >> state senator chris smith and goldie taylor, i'm going to have to leave it there. but thank you both for your time. >> i'll see you next week, reverend. >> see you monday. ahead, very good news tonight on obama care. it has to do with republicans and the medicaid expansion. and what democratic leader handed the billionaire koch brothers today for, quote, campaign of deception? you'll want to see this, next. ♪ [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪ she can print amazing things, right from her computer.

harry reid is going to war against the koch brothers. the senate majority leader is making headlines today after a blistering attack against the billionaire conservative mega donors on the floor of the senate. >> what is unamerican is when shadowy billionaires pour unlimited money into our democracy to rig the system to benefit themselves and the wealthiest 1%. senate republicans, madam president, are addicted to koch. >> addicted to koch.

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addicted to what senator reid called unlimited money from shadowy billionaires. addicted to what that money can buy. according to "the washington post," koch-backed groups raised $400 million during the 2012 election. >> the koch brothers already believe they can play by a different set of rules. think about how an america rigged by the koch brothers would look. the koch brothers don't care about guarantee of affordable, quality health insurance for every american. that's obvious from the misleading ads they have paid for from all over the country. >> many of those misleading ads are coming from the koch-funded group americans for prosperity. the same group the post reports has already spent $30 million this election cycle. a spokesman for the koch brothers responded, saying, quote, we are disappointed that senator reid is attacking private citizens, rather than the problems facing this nation.

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a lot of people are afraid to stand up to the koch brothers. they are a lot of money and even more power. but harry reid isn't afraid. he is a former boxer. and today he proved that he still knows how to throw a punch. and when you put them in charge of making an unbeatable truck... ... good things happen. this is the ram 1500. the 2014 motor trend truck of the year and first ever back-to-back champion. guts. glory. ram. but with less energy, moodiness, and a low sex drive, i had to do something. i saw my doctor. a blood test showed it was low testosterone, not age. we talked about axiron the only underarm low t treatment that can restore t levels to normal in about two weeks in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18

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or men with prostate or breast cancer. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these symptoms to your doctor. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer, worsening prostate symptoms, decreased sperm count, ankle, feet or body swelling, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing while sleeping and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. ask your doctor about axiron. cut! [bell rings] this...is jane.

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her long day on set starts with shoulder pain... ...and a choice take 6 tylenol in a day which is 2 aleve for... ...all day relief. hmm. [bell ring] "roll sound!" "action!" tonight a major victory for obama care. extremist republicans in arkansas failed in their attempt to roll back the state's medicaid expansion, keeping alive a program that covers nearly 94,000 people. this is a big step forward. it could be a sign of things to come. republican governors and lawmakers in 19 other states have rejected the medicaid expansion, leaving millions without health insurance. last month, president obama told those republican governors that it's time to help their constituents. >> states that don't expand

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medicaid are going to be leaving up to 5.4 million americans uninsured. and that doesn't have to happen. work with us to get this done. >> despite all that republican obstruction, americans are getting covered, and that's a good thing. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. keeping the cold war cold. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. i've never heard so many right wingers screeching for a new cold war. the same right wing hawks who hauled this country into iraq for no good reason are up to their old jingoism. brett stephens of "the wall street jou"